Shuuichi's Story
by Sesus Shuuichi
Summary: Exalted: Just when you think you're all alone, people enter your life that change it forever....or so Shuuichi is about to learn.
1. Prologue

Shuuichi's Story  
  
  
  
Author's notes: Shuuichi is a character from one of my groups MANY Exalted games. He had to be retired due to the fact that he became too BEAST to allow into any other games. He, however, became one of my most beloved gaming characters because I took the time to develop him in a way that I never had with another before. I hope you all love him as much as I did.  
  
Warnings: Just another note...Shuuichi is gay, so there WILL be slash here. Also, there may be some discrepancies with the way certain NPC's that were created by White-Wolf are portrayed. Typhon, the DeathKnight, and Nagazar, the Dragonblooded, are both characters in this story.  
  
Disclaimers: I want to OWN White-wolf!!!!! They are SO FREAKING COOL!!!! Sadly..I don't, so the Universe and the NPC's in this story do not belong to me. Shuuichi does, however..and if you would like to use him as an NPC in one of your games, just e-mail me at Hijiri630@aol.com and I will be more than happy to give you his stats.  
  
Thanks!!!! And Enjoy!!!!!  
  
  
  
Shuuichi's Story  
  
Everyone has always believed that I am naïve.and perhaps, on the day that they met me, I was. After all, I had just only Exalted the night before, and had been running from the Wyld Hunt. No one really knew anything about my past other than that I had been a priest of a rather small shrine to a God that hardly anyone worships anymore in the town of Blue Haven.  
  
It was rather obvious that I hadn't come from Blue Haven, especially to me. However, I had never thought to question my life in the Shrine. I was the favored pupil to the High Priest Setsui..a kind man who treated me like a son and taught me all that I'd need to know in order to take over as High Priest one day. I loved him as though he were my own father.  
  
The night of my exaltation was one that I know I will never forget. I've heard the stories of the others.and mine was not nearly as eventful. I had just put my canary, Seiryuu, in his cage and was meditating in the middle of my bed. I had been given a room of my own, being the next in line to run the Shrine, as I needed my privacy.  
  
I assume that I had been meditating for hours before it happened. I suddenly had an epiphany..I felt so free and powerful, and yet, I felt as though things would never be the same. I was a little frightened by that.but I pushed it aside and rushed to my Master's quarters to tell him of everything I'd experienced. Now that I look back on it, I almost laugh. I was such a child.so naïve..it's almost funny. I'm glad that it was so late at night when it happened, as no one was awake and I never heard the cries of "Anathema" until sometime the next week when the group I was with had traveled to the Coral Archipelago and I had accidentally used a charm while practicing my martial arts.  
  
I arrived at my Master's rooms and was so excited about what had happened that I was stumbling over my own words, which was extremely out of character for me. I always knew what to say and when to say it. Tonight was just different somehow.  
  
As soon as my Master saw me, he pulled me into an embrace, pushing my forehead into his shoulder as he pulled me almost roughly into the room. I was frightened to say the least, not understanding what I had done to make him so angry. I stayed still, waiting for what seemed to be forever for Master Setsui to release me.  
  
When he finally did, I realized that he had been crying, his eyes red and tear-stains marring his usually handsome face. He pushed the strands of black hair away from my face, laying a gentle kiss on my forehead before he spoke.  
  
"Shuuichi..you must leave here at once." He whispered, wrapping a cloak around my shoulders and pulling the hood over my head. "Listen carefully, for I only have a few minutes to explain."  
  
"Master.." I said, not understanding. "Why must I leave.?"  
  
"Because, my son, you are, to these simple people, a demon." Setsui said, once again holding me close. "I want you to be safe. You, Shuuichi, are of the Eclipse Caste of the Solar Exalted. If the Dragonblooded were to find you here, you would be killed indiscriminately."  
  
I instantly understood. "Master, I will go..but.who will go with me? I know nothing of the outside world. I've.never even been outside of the Shrine.."  
  
"I have foreseen that there will be those who you can trust that will soon come into your life. They will take care of you and teach all you need to know." He said. He suddenly removed his pendant-one of his most prized possessions-and put it around my neck. "You are the closest thing I will ever have to a son, Shuuichi, and I hope to see you again someday. Retrieve your Familiar and I will take you to the place where you will meet them. Stay there. They will not be long in coming."  
  
I nodded, retrieving Seiryuu and following my Master to the place. It was a beach which was facing another small island not far from here. To the south was yet another that I knew the pirates of Blue Haven were from. They never bothered our town, however, and I had even seen some of them in the temple, worshiping our god. I knew that I would be safe from them.  
  
My Master suddenly pulled me into an embrace, holding me tightly as he whispered. "You will be safe, my Shuuichi. I am sure of it. Just do as I have instructed and do not stray from this beach. Promise me." He demanded, pushing me gently away.  
  
I could see he was desperate. "Yes, Master, I promise." I answered. I smiled a little, trying to be reassuring. "I will see you again someday. Good-bye."  
  
Setsui smiled back sadly. "Good-bye, Shuuichi." He said, turning and walking back toward the Shrine.  
  
I watched him until he disappeared, feeling tears roll down my face. I took a seat on the blanket he'd laid out for me, letting Seiryuu play amongst the bright colors. "Whatever will I do?" I asked myself, looking out over the water. "Where do I go from here?"  
  
  
  
Part 1..FINISHED!!!!!!  
  
I just want to thank everyone that played a part in the game.  
  
First of all: Josh, you run a freaking AWESOME RPG. Exalted quickly became an obsession for everyone who was involved.  
  
Tesseth!!! I can't wait until I get to introduce "Rory-dono"!!! Next Part, I promise!!!  
  
Fred: Alexiel..love of my Shuuichi's life. Love you soooooo much, Fred.  
  
Ray: Teriel the badass will show up soon. Get ready to swoon, girls. Teriel had Appearance 5.  
  
Jay: The person Shuuichi cannot help but despise..but you played him PERFECTLY!!! Thanks!  
  
Anthony: aka "Preach": I can not WAIT to introduce the forgetful and yet incredibly lovable Eclipse and his partner in crime, Nipsy!  
  
And to anyone else I may have missed! I can't remember all of the NPC's you played for us, Marcus, but they were all PRICELESS. And hilarious. 


	2. So we meet......

Shuuichi's Story  
  
  
  
Author's notes: Shuuichi is a character from one of my groups MANY Exalted games. He had to be retired due to the fact that he became too BEAST to allow into any other games. He, however, became one of my most beloved gaming characters because I took the time to develop him in a way that I never had with another before. I hope you all love him as much as I did.  
  
Warnings: Just another note...Shuuichi is gay, so there WILL be slash here. Also, there may be some discrepancies with the way certain NPC's that were created by White-Wolf are portrayed. Typhon, the DeathKnight, and Nagazar, the Dragonblooded, are both characters in this story.  
  
Disclaimers: I want to OWN White-wolf!!!!! They are SO FREAKING COOL!!!! Sadly..I don't, so the Universe and the NPC's in this story do not belong to me. Shuuichi does, however..and if you would like to use him as an NPC in one of your games, just e-mail me at Hijiri630@aol.com and I will be more than happy to give you his stats.  
  
Thanks!!!! And Enjoy!!!!!  
  
I don't know when I fell asleep that night. One moment I was looking out over the water and the next I was laying on the blanket and the sun was shining brightly above me. It was a beautiful day.the kind of day when I would sit in the courtyard of the Shrine after my lessons so that I could concentrate while I sketched.  
  
There was suddenly a cross-bow aimed at my forehead and I froze, covering my head with my arms. I could hear Seiryuu chirping angrily at the person, his little legs hopping across my shoulder. It seemed as though my canary had become rather protective of me..that thought almost made me laugh.  
  
"A'tuin! What are you doing to the poor thing?" a woman's voice suddenly said, obviously upset with someone. "Do you always attack innocent campers???"  
  
"I don't see a fire here and she's alone, other than this stupid bird. What the hell am I supposed to think?" A'tuin answered, still aiming the cross-bow at my head. "Besides, we're supposed to kill these bastards. Isn't that what we were told?"  
  
I suddenly felt someone touch my shoulder, gently pulling the hood of my cloak away. Slender, soft fingers pushed my hair away from my face. "For one thing, A'tuin, this isn't a girl. It's just a very pretty boy. For another, I don't think he's a danger to us. He was asleep when the air- ship landed. If he were here to kill us, don't you think he'd be awake?" the woman's voice said again.  
  
The woman touched my cheek, turning my face toward her's. "It's alright. No one here is going to hurt you." She said, helping me to sit up. She was rather pretty with black hair and .eyes that were two different colors. One was a beautiful blue while the other was green. She had a kind, open face and she was currently smiling. "My name is Ruriel. What's your's?  
  
"Shuuichi." I answered, taking Seiryuu off of my shoulder and tucking him into my pocket. I didn't want to give them too much information about myself. For all I knew, they could be from the Wyld Hunt. "I.used to be a priest."  
  
"Used to be??" Ruriel asked. "Why did you stop?"  
  
I felt tears fill my eyes again, remembering my home and why I could never go back. "My.Master told me to go. He said that I couldn't stay because people would come to kill me if I did..."  
  
"A Sidereal?" one of them, a man with a squirrel sitting on his shoulder, asked, looking to Ruriel.  
  
"Perhaps, Eclipse." Ruriel answered. "Why would anyone want to kill you, Shuuichi? You seem rather harmless, if I may say so."  
  
"I.I honestly don't know." I answered, pulling my knees to my chest. I must have looked like such a child. I knew that I looked younger than I truly was. They probably thought I was just a teenager. "He just told me that he foresaw people coming and hurting me. He told me to never return. I.don't know where I'm going to go."  
  
"That's simple." A'tuin suddenly said, smirking. "You're coming with us. No one can know where we've been and this is the only way Ruriel will let me tie up loose ends like you, kid."  
  
"We're taking in another stray?"  
  
That voice was new. I looked away from Ruriel to see the most beautiful man I'd ever seen standing not 10 feet away, behind the one Ruriel had called Eclipse. He had long, almost white-blonde hair that fell to his waist and incredibly bright blue eyes that seemed to bore into me. I couldn't take my eyes off of him. He looked like an incarnate god.  
  
"Yes, Teriel." A'tuin stated, obviously annoyed. "He's a prisoner. Maybe..."  
  
A'tuin suddenly stepped closer, face not two inches from my own. "Are you from a Dragon-blooded house? Maybe we could ransom you or something."  
  
"Far from it, I'm afraid." I answered, knowing my voice was soft. "I.am running from the Dragon-blooded. I am sure that everyone in the town knows by now..."  
  
"Knows what, Shuuichi?" Ruriel asked me, gesturing for Eclipse to pull A'tuin away from me. "What would they know about you?"  
  
"I.I can not tell you." I said. "You may want to kill me as well."  
  
"Shuuichi, you may be surprised by this, but we are being hunted as well." Ruriel stated, laying her hands on either side of my face. She closed her eyes, seeming to concentrate before I saw a soft aura appear around her. On her forehead was the symbol I knew to be associated with the Twilight Caste of the Solar Exalted. "The question remains: Are you running for the same reason we are?"  
  
I smiled, finally understanding that these were the people who my Master had entrusted my care to. I closed my own eyes and felt the same power I had the night before fill me. I heard a few gasps from the many men that stood on the beach, but as I opened my eyes, I saw Ruriel smiling.  
  
"Eclipse Caste." She whispered, helping me to my feet. "Well, Shuuichi of the Eclipse Caste, shall we leave this place?"  
  
I only nodded, knowing that all the others could see the mark on my forehead. The one who had pointed his cross-bow at me suddenly laughed, shaking his head.  
  
"Well, I'll be damned..." he said, turning and walking away. "Let's go, everybody. We gotta get out of here before we get seen by the villagers."  
  
I smiled, letting Ruriel take my hand and pull me toward the air- ship. I'd finally found the family that Master Setsui had told me of. Finally, I could feel safe again.  
  
  
  
I finally introduced four of the five GREATEST characters in our Exalted game. It'll be awhile for Alexiel..but it will be worth waiting for, I promise you.  
  
Also.I LOVE reviews. If you'd like to send any, I'd be happy to get them. Flames are cool too..I like to post those on my blog and make fun of them. *laughs* 


	3. New Friends??? Or nothing more than aqu...

Shuuichi's Story  
  
Part 2.finally. Apparently, I have to be quick about this because SOME PEOPLE (aka. Fred) refuse to read this until their character appears. Alexiel doesn't show for a while.and I have to do a whole mess of stuff with the original characters before he does. Alexiel is our bad-ass brawler. I can't WAIT to introduce him...  
  
Well.on with the show!!!!! This story is long.so if there is any lack of plot, it's because I've only posted three of the COUNTLESS chapters that there will be. Eventually, I will give credit to those who help me write this.so Tesseth!!! We need to get together on this. I need Ruri-dono's point of view!!!!!  
  
  
  
Part 3  
  
I found the air-ship to be rather large, with many rooms used by A'tuin's men to do various tasks. I had been shooed out of the bridge when I'd gone exploring, told that they didn't want me up there when they were in the process of fixing everything. I was a little disappointed at that, but I was told that I would be able to explore later by a few of A'tuin's men. They even offered me a tour..I wondered about that though. Why would men who I barely knew want to offer me, a priest-boy, a tour? I just shrugged, mumbled my appreciation of their kindness, and went to the upper deck. I wanted to see what was going on.  
  
When I arrived, I saw the Lady Ruriel standing on the other side of the deck watching Eclipse and Teriel as they sparred. Both of them were glowing with the use of their essence. Eclipse was glowing a bright yellow, his power taking on an almost fire-like glow. His caste-mark looked to be one of the Zenith Caste of the Solars. It was just a circle that was unfilled, but the emptiness of that circle was more than made up for by the intensity with which Eclipse fought.  
  
Teriel's, on the other hand, was just like his own. It was a circle, just like Eclipse's.but with a smaller, filled-in circle in the middle of it. Eclipse Caste. His anima was glowing a white-gold, though there were traces of violet and blue flowing throughout it. Just like the corona of a Solar Eclipse. It was very beautiful.  
  
Lady Ruriel suddenly waved to me gesturing for me to join her on the other side of the deck. She was smiling sweetly, taking my hand when I finally reached her. She was being so kind to me.  
  
"You seem rather shy, Shuuichi." She said, taking a seat on one of the rails. "Why is that??"  
  
I smiled a little, my eyes taking in the view of the island. It was very different, seeing it from so high up. Beautiful.but different. "I am not used to being around others. And..everyone here is so.wonderful. I feel as though I do not even begin to measure up to them. You're all so.aesthetically pleasing. I must look like an awkward child."  
  
Ruriel suddenly laughed, touching my cheek and turning it toward herself. "Shuuichi.you are far from being an 'awkward child'." She stated, brushing my hair away from my face. I obviously needed a haircut. "You are destined to be as handsome as Teriel-san. I can see that. You're just young. Right now, you're so pretty that half of A'tuin's men have mistaken you for a girl. Some day, however, you will be an extremely beautiful young man."  
  
I was shocked, to say the least. I'd been told that I was attractive, but I rarely believed people when they said that. I saw nothing out of the ordinary when I looked in the mirror. Just an awkward man-child.nothing more. For someone to say that I was that beautiful was extremely flattering.  
  
Needless to say, I was blushing intensely.  
  
"Lady Ruriel..."  
  
"No.my name is Ruriel. No titles. You are an equal among us." Ruriel corrected, smiling again. "I can tell that you aren't used to compliments..but you had better get used to them. When we go into small villages and such, people tend to follow Teriel-san around like he is some kind of incarnate god. It can be quite humorous, considering he is the most anti-social person I have ever known."  
  
I looked again at Teriel and felt my cheeks flush. He truly was beautiful..most likely what a poet would call 'human perfection'. "He.is truly beautiful." I conceded, watching him pull his rather long hair back in order to tie it away from his face. He and Eclipse obviously weren't done sparring yet.  
  
"Do not let him hear you say that." Ruriel said, laughing a little. "He is also extremely vain and arrogant. We can't pass a mirror without him having to look at himself."  
  
I smiled a little, taking Seiryuu out of my pocket. "Go play." I whispered, letting him fly up onto one of the masts.  
  
"Will he return?" Ruriel asked, watching him land on the shoulder of man in the crow's nest. The crewman looked rather startled before he shrugged. Seiryuu stayed in place, singing a little.  
  
"Yes." I answered, looking back at my new friend. "Seiryuu and I have been together for over a year now. He listens to me. We need each other."  
  
"Your Familiar." Ruriel whispered to herself. "How fitting for you. Gentle, innocent Shuuichi. I can see that you and I will become good friends, Shuuichi." She stated, smiling as she hugged me tightly.  
  
I couldn't help but be overwhelmed. The only person who had ever embraced me was my Master Setsui. This was just strange.but nice.  
  
"Ruriel..."  
  
"Time for lunch!" Ruriel suddenly said, smiling as she took my hand and pulled me away from the rail. "You and I will eat together. I don't want you near A'tuin's men until they all understand that you're a boy."  
  
* * * * * *  
  
After lunch, I headed back to the room that A'tuin said I could have, deciding to take a nap. I was fond of staying up late to meditate..or to practice with my short sword, so I always took a short nap in the afternoon in order to have the energy to stay up.  
  
When I woke, I could see from the porthole of my room that it was dark. I smiled, grabbing my sword and heading down the hallway, on my way to the upper deck.  
  
"What use will he be, Ruriel?" I heard A'tuin's voice say from the room I knew to be the meeting room. "He's just a kid.and I doubt he can fight. We should take him to the Coral Archipelago and leave him. He would be better off there."  
  
I was stunned. They wanted to abandon me? Why? I hadn't done anything wrong. I decided to stay and listen..to find out what my fate was to be.  
  
"I agree." I heard Teriel say. "As much as I'd hate to abandon a fellow Solar, we can not afford to take the kid with us. It would be dangerous."  
  
"Did you ever think that maybe he would be in danger if we left him?" Ruriel stated, obviously angry. "It's obvious that he knows little of the world. If we left him somewhere alone, who knows what would happen to him? No. If you leave him, you'll have to leave me too. I won't leave that poor child alone."  
  
"I would agree with my lady." Eclipse conceded. "And you both know that you can not afford to leave us behind. You need us to help defeat the Mask of Winters and his Death Knights."  
  
"We're leaving Shuuichi in the Coral Archipelago and that is final." A'tuin stated. "If you haven't forgotten, this is my airship. He is a distraction to my men and I refuse to take him any farther than that."  
  
I felt tears fall down my face and I scrubbed my arm across my eyes, hating every moment of this conversation. They were going to leave me someplace alone. Once again, I would have no one. I dropped my sword, barely hearing the loud clatter as I fell to my knees and began sobbing. Why did every one want to leave me alone?  
  
The room that I was outside of suddenly went silent, and I could hear chairs scrapping the floor as everyone stood.  
  
"What was that?" Teriel stated, obviously confused.  
  
The first person out of the room was Ruriel, who's eyes widened as she saw me. She started to come toward me to comfort me, apparently, but I pushed her away, running toward my own room and slamming the door. I needed a few minutes to calm myself..that was all. Maybe then I could try and reason with them. I just needed a few minutes..  
  
"He heard us?" I heard Teriel say suddenly from outside my door.  
  
"Every word, apparently." Ruriel stated, angry with them. "You both should be ashamed of yourselves. He's just a lonely child and you wanted to abandon him in one of the worst places to abandon a person. He'd end up as a whore or worse. You know that."  
  
I didn't know what a whore was.but it must have been bad if Ruriel was afraid for me. At least someone cared enough for my safety to actually fight for me.  
  
"Talk to him, woman." Teriel suddenly said. I heard his heavy footsteps walk away from the door before Ruriel sighed.  
  
"Shuuichi, I know you don't want to talk right now." She said through the door. "Meet me tomorrow at breakfast. We will talk then, alright????"  
  
I heard her softer footsteps walk away from my door before I turned my face into my pillow. I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew.it was morning and the breakfast bell was ringing. I sighed, getting up and dressing.  
  
Time to face the music.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
I just love cliff-hangers...don't you?????  
  
I need some help with the next part, everyone. You know who you are. Tesseth! Do you wanna help???? 


End file.
